AETMWOTMU
by oOo. AnimaX .oOo
Summary: Astral Explores the Many Wonders of the Modern Universe. A collection of one-shots. Please R&R! Suggestions are welcome
1. Chapter 1

**ASTRAL**** EXPLORES THE MANY WONDERS OF THE MODERN UNIVERSE!**

**EPISODE ONE: GUMBALLS**

Astral floated behind Yuma, gazing around in awe at all the wonders of the modern universe. _This place is so different from-wherever I came. _he thought, observing the cars and passing people. " Yuma, where are we going?" he asked. " Hmm? I gotta run an errand for Gramma."

" What's an errand?"

" What? Oh, it's like going and doing a chore out of the house."

" And what errand are you doing?" Yuma counted out the money in his hand. " Gotta buy Gramma her potatoe chips, pop-corn and soda."

" What are those?"

" Another episode, okay?"

" What?"

" Oops, broke the fourth wall. Sorry!"

" Why don't you fix it?"

" It's not that type of wall! It's a-oh never mind. Don't wanna break the fourth wall again."

" Then you'd have to fix it even more, wouldn't you?"

" ARRGH!" While they had been talking, Yuma had reached his destination. He went in, bought what he needed, and was just leaving when he spotted something. " Oh, boy! Gumballs!" As Yuma leaped forward, Astral asked, " Yuma, what are these gumballs you speak of?" Yuma was cramming a quarter into the machine. " Huh? Oh, they're this candy." He twisted the handle, and, lo and behold, out popped a brightly colored gumball! Astral was amazed at the magic. " Yuma, how is it that you put in a coin and out comes a peice of...candy?" Yuma popped the gumball into his mouth, sucked on it, then chewed furiously. " It's not magic!"

" Then what is it?"

" Another episode- Oh, man, I did it again!"

" You really must be more careful, Yuma."

" YOU DRIVE ME CRAZY!"

" Always breaking things..."

" WILL YOU BE QUIET?" After a glare at Astral, Yuma tromped home. " Yuma, what is tromping?"

" Uh oh, Astral, you just broke the fourth wall!"

" What evil have I unwittingly commited? FATES SPARE ME!"

" Astral, RELAX. I did the same thing and I'm still alive, aren't I?"

" Hmm...maybe doing so chips away at your mind..."

" WHAT IS THAT SUPPOSED TO MEAN?"

" You aren't exactly smart, Yuma."

" Oh, geez! Insulted by my own imaginary friend! Or foe. I have no idea. But still!"

" Are you upset?"

" YES! I AM, IN FACT, UPSET!" His grandmother looked at him strangely. " Why are you yelling at air, Bubbles?"

" GRAMMA! HE STARTED IT! I mean, don't call me that and nothing!" He dropped the groceries next to his grandma and went up stairs. His gum had been mashed so much that it no longer held flavor. So he tossed it away. " Yuma! Where did that chewed and slimy thing come from? Is it alien off-spring, focused on eating you?"

" What are you TALKING about?"

" I watched it on that odd magic box."

" Oh, TV. I told you, that's fiction. Like the Sparrow!"

" But what IS it?" Yuma guestured to the trash can. " That, my friend, or foe, is the end result of a gumball!" Astral looked into the garbage with an expression akin to both disgust and wonder. " That gross rubbery thing is that treat you so gladly recieved from the magic object?"

" Yes."

" Why would you eat something so weird-looking?"

" It isn't weird-looking to start with!"

" And why did your grandmother call you Bubbles?"

" That is none of your business!"

(Actually, he got it from when he was a baby. He blew spit bubbles all the time, hence the dumb name.)

**YUMA: Why would you write that?**

**KIANNAYUDO13: What?**

**YUMA: That nick name! It's lame and not true!**

**KIANNAYUDO13: I asked your Grandma. She said that's what it was.**

**YUMA: WHAT?**

**GRAMMA: Hi, sweety.**

**YUMA: Oh, this can't be happening.**

**ASTRAL: Yuma, who are all those people staring at these words?**

**YUMA: AAAUUGHH! PEOPLE STARING? THEY'RE-THEY'RE READING THIS?**

**KIANNAYUDO13: Oops. Sorry. Did I mention I posted this on FanFiction?**

**YUMA: MY LIFE IS RUINED!**

**KIANNAYUDO13: Nah, just your reputation. And besides, people already think you're an idiot.**

**YUMA: You really think so? Hey, wait! You're a jerk!**

**KIANNAYUDO13: Really? **

**YUMA: YES! **

**KIANNAYUDO13: Huh. Anyway, tune in next time for episode two!**

**YUMA: NO, DON'T TUNE IN! FORGET THIS EXISTS! PLEASE! MY LIFE DEPENDS ON IT! PLEE-HEE-HEESE! *starts to cry***

**KIANNAYUDO13: Aw, it's okay.**

**YUMA: SHUT UP! **

**KIANNAYUDO13: And please review! No flames!**

**YUMA: YES! FLAME IT! USE A FLAMETHROWER! FLAME IT TO HECK! SET IT ON FIRE! FIRE!**

**KIANNAYUDO13: Pyromaniac. Can we get a therapist in here?**

**YUMA: FIRE! FLAMES! INFERNO! MUAHAHAHAHA!**

**KIANNAYUDO13: Forget therapist! Tranqualizers, anyone?**

**AKARI: OOOH!**


	2. Chapter 2

**ASTRAL**** EXPLORES THE MANY WONDERS OF THE MODERN UNIVERSE!**

**EPISODE TWO: SWEARING**

Yuma was walking aimlessly around Heartland, not really doing anything. Astral floated invisably behind him, observing the people that passed them. One man, a big, loud guy, was yelling into his phone. A long string of swear words flew out of his mouth. Astral was curious about these strange words. Nobody he had encountered had ever used words like these. And for some reason, they just sounded nasty. So he asked Yuma what they meant. " Yuma, what does ** mean?" Yuma stared at the ghost. " ASTRAL!"

" What?"

" NEVER SAY THOSE AGAIN!"

" Why?"

" THEY'RE SWEAR WORDS!"

" What are swear words?"

" SWEAR WORDS ARE REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY BAD WORDS THAT YOU SHOULD NEVER EVER EVER EVER EVER SAY!"

" Why not?"

" JUST BECAUSE!" People were staring at him. " Uh, heh heh." Yuma sidled into the store closest to them. It was a big food store. Yuma hid behind a big rack of bread and tried to explain it to his invisable friend. " Astral, never say those again! Swear it!"

" Do what?"

" Swear it! Swear you'll never swear again!"

" Swear it? Um, okay." Astral rattled off every bad word he'd ever heard. Yuma's eyes were as big as dinner plates. " ASTRAL!"

" You told me to swear it."

" WHERE DID YOU EVEN HEAR THOSE?"

" Those were some of the words the man said. Would you like me to swear some more?"

" NO! MY MIND IS ALREADY POISENED! PROMISE YOU'LL NEVER SWEAR AGAIN!"

" I promise."

" Cross you're heart and hope to die?" Astral looked at him strangely. " Why should I hope to die? And I'm not sure I have a heart to cross."

" IT'S AN EXPRESSION!"

" What's an expression?"

" URGGH! ANOTHER EPISODE! ALRIGHT?"

" Did you break the fourth wall again?"

" I! DON'T! REALLY! CARE!"

" You should, Yuma."

" WELL I DON'T!"

" Fine."

(LATER)

Astral was just floating out (like hanging out), watching TV invisably behind Yuma and his gramma, when Akari stubbed her toe, hard against the edge of the couch. " OW! #$%&!" (- this doesn't spell anything, okay? So don't try to figure out what she was saying.) Astral was shocked. Yuma had told him not to swear, but here Akari was just letting loose. He flew over and floated over her head. " Never say that again!" he shouted. Akari, of course, couldn't see or hear him, so she just sat on the floor and muttered swear words under her breath. Yuma looked over the side of the couch. " Are you okay?"

" NO! I AM IN SERIOUS PAIN!" Yuma sank back into his seat and turned the TV up louder so that he couldn't hear his sister swear. Astral didn't let up, though. He just went on and on and on and on, telling her how bad that word was and that she'd be in trouble once the wrinkly lady found out (He doesn't yet know about the aging process). Finally he ran out of steam, a couple hours after Akari had forgotten the pain in her toe and started working on her news story. He floated over Yuma, muttering under his breath about how evil Akari really was. After Yuma had gone to bed, Astral decided to ask him a couple of things. " Yuma, why is it that you tell me not to swear, but you barely react when the tall girl does?"

" She's my sister for one, and two, she was in pain."

" So if I was in this pain you speak of, could I swear?"

" I don't think you can feel pain, Astral. Besides, you just fall through everything."

" I see. Goodnight, Yuma." Yuma rolled over and instantly started snoring. Astral pondered what he had learned. " This is very interesting. Observation 17; you can swear if in pain." Astral spent the rest of the night trying to kick Yuma's dresser, with no side effects. " How strange." he muttered. " I really want to try swearing out." Yuma muttered, half asleep. " You can't just try out swearing."

" Why not?"

" Because it's bad."

" If it's bad, why does everybody do it?" Yuma grumbled. " You're making my brain hurt to much to sleep. Go do something quietly. I swear..." Astral was shocked with Yuma. " YOU SWEAR?"

" AUGH!" Yuma was so startled he fell out of his hammock. " OWWCH! &$#^!"

" You DO swear! I knew it!"

" Astral, I swear, I am going to kill you..."

" HAH! YOU JUST SAID IT AGAIN!"  
>" YOU DRIVE ME CRAZY!"<p>

" **SHUT UP!**" The two fell silent after Akari's outburst. " Yuma, what did you mean when you said you were going to kill me?"

" Another episode, alright?"

" Yuma, stop breaking the fourth wall!"

" ARRGH! *#!%#%!"

" Yuma!"

( I'll just stop writing here, because this could go on a while.)

**YUMA: Did not!**

**ASTRAL: Did so!**

**YUMA: Did NOT!**

**ASTRAL: Did SO!**

**KIANNAYUDO13: See what I mean?**

**YUMA: Aw, shut up.**

**KIANNAYUDO13: EXCUSE ME? *punches Yuma***

**YUMA: Owww...**

**KIANNAYUDO13: Please review! Again, no flames! I don't have a fire extinguisher. Hee, hee.**

**YUMA: I hurt.**

**KIANNAYUDO13: Shut up, idiot.**


	3. Chapter 3

**ASTRAL**** EXPLORES THE MANY WONDERS OF THE MODERN UNIVERSE!**

**EPISODE THREE: SWIMMING**

" YAAAY!" Yuma bounded down the stairs, yanking a t-shirt over his head. Astral came out of the Emperor's Key and floated behind Yuma. " What is wrong, Yuma?"

" It's not what's wrong! It's what's right!" Yuma jumped the last five steps, landing heavily on his feet. " YEE HAWW!" He raced into the kitchen, grabbing an orange and peice of toast off the table. He ran for the door, taking a huge chunk out of the toast. " Uh uh uh!" Gramma grabbed his shirt. " Have a real breakfast, Yuma!" Yuma stood over his plate, shoving everything into his mouth at break-neck speed. Astral was fascinated with his sudden hyper rush. " Yuma, why are you eating faster than normal?"

" Because today I'm going to the beach!" he said gleefully, tilting back his head and pouring an entire cup of orange juice into his mouth. " Eh, what's that?"

" Oh! Nothing!" Yuma finished mauling his orange and again charged for the door. " Yuma! Don't forget-" Yuma was out the door and two blocks down before his gramma could finish her sentence. "-your sunblock." Yuma was charging down the sidewalk, his head lowered and arms pumping. " Augh!" He charged right into Tori, who was wearing a light sundress and carrying a beach bag. " Watch it, Yuma!" She stood up and dusted off her knees. Luckily, neither of them had suffered any wounds. " Come on come on are you ready are you ready let's go let's go!" She glared at Yuma. " How about an apology?"

" Go ahead!" Yuma was jogging in place, his eyes huge and slightly crazed. " Fine. Let's go!" They both ran down the street, Yuma's bare feet slapping against the cement. " Hee hee! Yeah!" Yuma let loose with dozens of crazed whoops and yells. When they finally reached the beach, it was already teeming with people. Yuma dashed past them all and cannonballed into the water. Astral managed to halt his momentum before going under. " Yuma? Yuma? YUMA?" He dashed back and forth, skimming the surface. He finally saw his spiky friend floating a few feet out. " Yuma!" He flew as fast as he could. " Are you alright?"

" Are you kidding? I'm having a blast!"

" What is kidding? And having a blast?" Yuma, for once, wasn't annoyed with his friends lack of knowledge. " Having a blast means you're having a lot of fun!"

" Fun?"

" And kidding means you're joking or teasing or something." Astral, still puzzled with the concept of fun, floated upwards so he could keep an eye on Yuma and digest this new information. " Hmm." A couple hours later, Yuma ran out of the water to have a snack. Astral quickly flew after him. Yuma plunked onto the sand and grabbed a salami sandwich from Tori's bag. Tori had also been swimming, and she wrung out her hair. Astral had never seen her hair out of it's usual shape, and was surpised that it wasn't just a wave of hair and a bun. " Yuma! What's happened to Tori's head-" He turned and gasped. A detail that had, at first, escaped his observation sprang out at him now. " YUMA! WHAT HAS HAPPENED TO YOUR SKIN?" Yuma looked up in surprise. Astral shuddered. Yuma's skin had becomed wrinkled and puckered on his feet and hands. Water was constantly streaming from his hair. Astral was convinced he was melting. He darted around, looking agitated. " Astral? What the heck is wrong with you?"

" Yuma! Do you not see what the water has done to you?"

" Um, no." Yuma looked down at himself. Nothing was abnormal. His skin was just a little wrinkly, that was all. " What's wrong with it?"

" You're streaming water! And you're wrinkled! Your fluids are beind drained by water!" Astral had watched too much TV the night before. And the night before that, and the night before that... ahem, anyway. " What? No, my body just can't absorb all the water I touch, so now that I'm out of the water, it's sliding off!"

" Then how do you explain that?" Astral pointed at his wrinkly hands and feet. " Um, I don't know why it happens, but whenever you're in the water for a while, you get wrinkly on your hands and feet." Astral floated close by anyway, keeping a sharp eye on Yuma while he ate. When Yuma moved to go back into the water, Astral floated in front of him, trying to block his way. " Yuma! I beg you! Don't go back in!"

" Will you relax, Astral?" Yuma dodged around him and dove into the water. Astral swiftly followed, not realizing until too late that he was flying straight for the water. With a scream, he plunged into it. He wasn't getting wet, though, and he could still breath and talk. He looked around and saw Yuma. Yuma was swimming, deeper and deeper, down towards the sandy bottom to pick up a shiny rock. " YUMA!" Astral dove after him, not in the swimming sense, though. Like how a bird dives through the air. Anyway. Yuma glanced up and screamed at the sight of the pale figure shooting towards him. Bubbles flew from his mouth as he emitted a gurgly yelp. Astral tried to grab Yuma and drag him back to the surface, but his hand just kept passing through Yuma's arm. Yuma grabbed the rock and swam up, trying to hold the remaining air in his lungs long enough to make to the surface. He finally broke through the water, gasping and coughing. Astral floated after him, hovering over him like a mother bird. " Yuma? Yuma, are you alright?"

" I *cough cough* would be better if you wouldn't do that!"

" Do what?"

" Jump out and scare me like that!"

" What is scare?"

" I'll tell you another time." Yuma swam back to shore and put his rock on the sand. " Yuma, I beg you, don't go in there again!" Yuma sighed. " Astral! I'll be fine! Why don't you come with me?"

" What?" Astral looked positively horrified by this idea. " You did it like two seconds ago!"

" Yes, well, that was different."

" How?"

" Um, you were in danger."

" I wasn't in danger!"

" But a small, scrawny human like you? You could've gone down and not come out!"

" I AM NOT SCRAWNY! Okay, I guess I am. But still! I would've been fine!"

" I have to disagree, Yuma." Yuma shrugged and pushed past him. Astral warily floated next to Yuma until the duelist was up to his waist in water. " Come on!"

" Yuma, I really don't think-"

" Astral, trust me!"

" But Yuma, is it safe?"

" For you it is! And for me too! Come on!" Without further arguement, Yuma dove into the water. Astral followed him, shuddering as he went under the water. His eyes were squeezed shut. He heard a bubbly " Astral" close to his head. He pried open one eye and looked at Yuma. Yuma gave him a thumbs-up. Astral opened his other eye and looked around. The first time under, he hadn't seen anything in his worry for Yuma. But now he saw coral, sea weed, small, colorful fish, and little crabs. He floated down to investigate. A grab scuttled away from him, and a group of fish swam past his face. " Wow!" Astral followed the fish for a while, then turned and persued a small sea turtle that was swimming another way. He poked around the sea weed and observed the clam shells half hidden in the silty bottom. The water was so clear, he could see every last thing. " Observation Eighteen: the sea is the most beautiful place in the world." After a while, he noticed that it was dimmer. He looked up, and through the water saw the sun setting. He turned and looked for Yuma. He was splashing Tori, who threw a clod of wet sand at him. Astral quickly flew after Yuma, not wanting to be forgotten. " Bye, Tori!" Yuma walked home, his wet feet making a wet slapping sound on the side walk. After they got home, Yuma dried off and put on his pajamas. Before Astral dissapeared into the Emperor's Key, Yuma asked him, " Do you want to go to the beach tomorrow?"

" Absolutely."

**ASTRAL: I liked it there.**

**YUMA: Yeah, me too.**

**KIANNAYUDO13: Please review! No flames, even though I have a fire extinguisher. Thnx, Ramijek!**


	4. Chapter 4

**ASTRAL**** EXPLORES THE MANY WONDERS OF THE MODERN UNIVERSE!**

**EPISODE FOUR: NIGHTMARES**

" No. No, Mom. Dad, no..." Yuma was tossing and turning, muttering in his sleep. Astral couldn't hear the TV over him which made him, something (annoyed), he didn't know what, but he wanted Yuma to quiet down. He floated over him and tried to figure out why he was talking. Sure, he did it a lot, but usually it was crazy stuff like, " Ninety-nine number cards on the wall, ninety-nine number cards!" (to the tune of " One Hundered Bottles of Beer on the Wall) or " Monkey stole my homework," or " Cookies would be lovely, Grandmother." This was different, though. Yuma was wriggling all over, making quiet grunting noises along with the talking or crying softly. " Mom, Dad, don't go! I love you! Don't go! Mom, Dad, please, don't leave me! Nooo!" Yuma shot straight up, somehow moving Astral out of the way. He was gasping and panting, sweat soaking his shirt and pouring down his forehead. " It was just a dream!" He flopped back, squeezing his eyes shut as if to shut out an image of some kind. " Yuma, what's wrong? What was that a dream about?" Yuma finally realized that Astral had that confused/curious expression on his face when exploring something new. " It was- nothing." Astral closed his eyes and seemed to listen. " You're parents? What happened to them?"

" I don't want to talk about it." Yuma snuggled against his hammock's webbing, burying his face in his pillow. Astral focused on Yuma's thoughts, a skill he was working on. He was catching snatches of garbled memory. _Mom...Dad...darkness...alone...fear...dead...Mom...Dad...gone...nightmare...greif. _Astral didn't know what most of those things meant, but he knew it had Yuma extremely upset. " Yuma, why don't you tell me? It's not like I could tell anyone even if I wanted to." Yuma opened his eyes, staring at his picture of his parents. " I don't know."

" Yuma, I would tell you, if I could remember." Yuma shuddered, wrapping his blanket around himself. " It was a nightmare."

" I heard you think that! What is a nightmare?"

" A nightmare is a dream that's really scary or terrible or sad. Mine was all three."

" So you had a nightmare about your parents. Is that right?"

" Yeah. It was just all of these images, playing a mile a minute, over and over. My parents when they were leaving on their last trip, them at my birthdays, Mom putting a band-aid on a scratch or something, Dad hiking with me, stuff like that." Yuma squeezed his eyes shut again and shuddered. " It was terrible, because I know they're gone, and we'll never do that again." Astral leaned back, thinking. He didn't remember his parents, if he had any, or any one else like him, really. It was just blank and in some places fuzzy, just on the verge of being discovered. " Yuma, what happened to your parents?"

" They, they died."

" What is died?"

" Another time." Yuma sniffled and whiped a tear from his cheek. " So this, died, it happened to them? And it is sad?"

" Yes, because when you die, you can't ever see them again. That is, until you die as well. I don't even know exactly how it happened."

" I see. Do you miss them?"

" Yeah. When they didn't send me a postcard, I got worried. When Gramma told me, it really tore me up. I was basically in a coma for weeks after."

" Coma?"

" A long, deep sleep." Astral wished he could comfort his friend, but didn't know how. " Yuma, is there any way I can make you feal better?"

" Only if you can bring back my parents." Yuma sniffled again and rolled over. Soon, he was asleep. Astral thought for a while. _How can I bring back Yuma's parents? They are this died thing, and so I can't see them until I die. Or Yuma does._ Astral floated around, trying to figure out how he could help his friend. A couple hours later, Yuma was muttering again. Astral didn't want him to wake up screaming again, so he thought of a quick plan. He remebered on TV seeing mothers sooth their crying babies by rocking them or murmering quietly. Astral couldn't rock him, but he could do the second part. He thought of some nice things to say, and floated cross-legged close to Yuma's head. " Yuma, it's okay. Nothing bad is happening. It's just a bad dream." Yuma's tensed body loosened a bit, and his eyes quit racing around under his eyelids. " It's fine, go to sleep. Remember when we went to the beach?" Yuma nodded in his sleep, snuggling down with a soft sigh. " Remember when I thought something bad had happened to you're skin? Remember that?" Yuma chuckled quietly and sighed again. " I liked the beach. We should go back, don't you think?" Yuma nodded again and yawned. " Go to sleep. I won't let anything hurt you. It's fine." Yuma was now snoring softly, all nightmares forgotten. Astral was proud of himself for stopping Yuma's troubled dreams. Deciding that he couldn't possibly watch his show now, he returned to the Emperor's Key, happy with a job well done.

**KIANNAYUDO13: * sniffle * That's so sweet.**

**YUMA: Yeah. Thanks, Astral.**

**ASTRAL: My pleasure.**

**KIANNAYUDO13: Awwww! Anyway, please R&R! And if you flame this, you have no soul. **


	5. Chapter 5

**ASTRAL**** EXPLORES THE MANY WONDERS OF THE MODERN UNIVERSE!**

**EPISODE FIVE: AMUSEMENT PARKS**

" Gramma Gramma Gramma I need ten dollars!" Yuma was bouncing up and down with excitement, impatiently waiting for his slow-witted grandmother to process his request. " Of course I'll give you twenty dollars, dear!" As his elderly relative fished around in her purse for the slightly-more-than-intended cash, Yuma did small circling laps around the chair. After his fiftieth, his gramma gave him twenty crisp green bucks. " Thank you thank you I'll be at the amusement park!" Before his gramma could question his motives for spending the money, Yuma was out the door and running hard. Well, running hard in CIRCLES, anyway. Astral floated close by, observing Yuma's energetic attempts to move in a forward manner. " Yuma, what is an amusement park? And why are you running in circles?" Yuma ran in place, his arms pumping with energy. " An amusement park is like a carnivel, only cooler cause it has more extreme rides! And I'm running in circles because I'm waiting for Bronk and Tori to get here." He resumed his circling run. " Observation Nineteen: when kept waiting, humans do useless things to pass the time." Eventually, Tori and Bronk appeared on the sidewalk, jogging down the cement. They waited until several blocks ahead before calling Yuma. " Yuma! Let's go!" Yuma blasted out of the yard, smoke practically flying off his feet. Thanks to their head start, his friends managed to keep up with him until about five minutes later when the fair came into sight. " Yeah-ha!" Yuma put on an extra burst of speed, rocketing away from Tori and Bronk. Once they'd caught up to Yuma, he was already rushing towards the ride called the _Spaceship Three Thousand_. Since it was a free day, where kids 13 and under got in for free, they didn't have to pay anything to go on the rides. Astral had gotten used to Yuma's speedy habits and had managed to keep up with him thus far. Yuma clattered aboard the ride and leaned against the upright cushion and wiggled with impatient expectation as other children filed onto the ride. Tori and Bronk were on Yuma's right side, and Astral floated on his left. Suddenly, loud rock music started to play and the ride started to spin, faster and faster, sticking it's thrilled riders to the walls of the mechanism. Remarkably, Astral was effected by the spinning motion and was extremely frightened. Never before had anything physically effected him like this. " Yuma!" Yuma was too busy trying to force himself up against the g-force of the ride to notice his ghost friend's discomfort. " Yuma!" Louder, but no reaction. " YUMA!" Yuma finally glanced up. " What is it, Astral?"

" Yuma, make it stop! MAKE IT STOP!" Astral huddled into a into a little ball and crouched on the floor, his eyes squeezed shut as he tried to block out the ride's momentum. " Astral, are you okay?"

" No! Yuma, I feel like I'm being thrown to the four winds! Please make it stop!"

" I can't!" Astral shuddered, too freaked out to hide in the Emporer's Key. Eventually, the ride creaked to a stop, Astral uncurling himself from the floor. He dazedly floated after Yuma, feeling a strange disorientation. " Astral? Are you okay?"

" Much better, now that the spinning has stopped." Yuma rushed off to his next favorite ride, the bumper cars. He jumped the railing and selected a sky-blue car that sat along the far side of the ride. Astral nervously flew behind Yuma, sitting next to him. Yuma slammed down the safety bar, making the ghost jump. More kids flooded the bumper cars until every one was inhabited. Suddenly, with a loud buzz, Yuma and Astral were off! Yuma crashed into a yellow car, but in his effort to back up, slammed into Tori's green car behind him (Japan has much more slippery cars than America). Astral was lurched forward and back by the constant bashing of cars, feeling extremely dizzy. Yuma, however, was enjoying himself immensly, slamming into every car possible. Astral once again found himself stuck in another unenjoyable ride. When the infernal machine eventually ceased it's functions and it's occupants had left, Astral stumbled, crouching on his knees. But to Yuma, Astral's reaction to the ride went unnoticed. He was too busy chattering with Tori and Bronk. " I know! Let's try the _Demon Drop_!" His friends gasped as if he had just uttered the name of some sacred artifact that heald unimaginable power. Say, a puzzle from Egypt, possibly inhabited by the spirit of the ancient Pharaoh Atem. Anyway. " Yuma! Do we dare?" Bronk, for once, spoke in a voice volume below his usual bellow. " Do we dare challenge the power of it?" Tori asked, equally awed. " I dare! And so does Astral! Right, pal?" Astral had gotten over the bumper cars and was again at his rightful place at Yuma's shoulder. Above and a little to the left, to be exact. " What? Oh, yes."

" Ha ha! See?"

" Uh, no Yuma, we can't see him."

" Oh right. Well, you're lucky! Especially when he forgets his blur! Ugh!" Yuma shuddered, but was soon back to his overly hyper, overly annoying self. " Come on!" He led his some-what reluctant and over-awed friends towards the entrance of the amusement park's featured ride. The _Demon Drop_ was an immense roller coast, with sudden breaks and dips and mountains all along it's huge track. Yuma and his buddies stalked reverantly towards the sign, which showed a large red demon head with horns and gleaming eyes above the jagged green and yellow words _Demon Drop_. A sorta sleepy looking guy with gnarly tangled brown hair and large nose peeking out from an over-sized baseball hat waved them through. Yuma, Tori and Bronk drifted under the arch, Astral looking stunned by the sign and not noticing when Yuma, Tori and Bronk sat in the front car. " Astral, maybe you should stay here." Astral snapped out of his trancelike state. " Stay here? But I can't leave you alone! What if you get injured?"

" Yeah, but you freaked out on milder rides than this. I think you might die if you join me on this ride."

" Yuma, I do not trust this rickety contraption. I'm coming with you, wether you like it or not."

" Fine." Astral sat next to Yuma, and the restraints (though they offered no help to the ghost) snapped down around them. Suddenly (again), the ride thundered to life and shot the car down the tracks. Astral, surprisingly, was not fazed by the sudden ups and downs of the roller coaster. He also made sure to do just as Yuma did. When Yuma flung his arms into the air, Astral did the same. When Yuma closed his eyes and laughed, Astral closed his eyes and smiled, since he didn't know how to laugh. When Yuma screamed like a pathetic little girl, Astral screamed like a pathetic little girl. When Yuma did all three, Astral did his best to imitate the odd combonation. At one point, Yuma got so frightened he tried to hug Astral. But of course, what with Astral having no substance and all, Yuma just slapped himself on the back and Astral was very confused, When the ride ended, the trio of solid beings were shocked, amazed and seemingly enlightened. " It was like facing a caged tiger." Tori whispered in awe. " It was like being thrust into a tornado by a giant." Bronk said, shuddering. " It was like being shot by Dark Magician, Dark Magician Girl, Blue Eyes White Dragon and Utopia all at once." Yuma gasped, his head spinning. " It was like doing the most enjoyable thing besides television that I have ever remembered experiencing. Let's do it again!"

**KIANNAYUDO13: I'm so, so, so, so, so, so, so, so, so, so, so, so, so, SO SORRY about how late I posted this! Apologies and the usual!**


	6. Chapter 6

**ASTRAL**** EXPLORES THE MANY WONDERS OF THE MODERN UNIVERSE!**

**EPISODE SIX: ZOOS**

" Class, today we're going on a field trip to the zoo!" Yuma was cheering the loudest of his classmates, jumping up and down with joy. " Yuma, what is a zoo?"

" It's a place where they keep animals, Astral, from all over the world!"

" And what is a field trip? Is that when you go take a trip in a meadow?"

" No! A field trip is a, um, is a, uh, I'm not really sure, but you don't go to a meadow!"

" Then why is it called a field trip?"

" I HAVE NO IDEA! BOY, YOU'RE ANNOYING!"

" How do you know that I'm a boy?"

" WHAT?"

" How do you determine a being's gender?"

" I am NOT getting into this conversation!"

" Why not?"

" BECAUSE!"

" Because why?"

" JUST BECAUSE!"

" You seem flustered, Yuma."

" THAT'S BECAUSE I AM- uh, flustered." Yuma was glad none of his classmates, though they were aware if his craziness, hadn't seen him arguing with a ghost. After a while, the teachers had succesfully herded the students in a more or less orderly fashion onto a caravan of buses, and they were on they're way! Astral did not enjoy the bus, because it had the distinct oder of burned rubber, gas (the human kind. Ick), old food, REALLY old food, even OLDER food, gym socks, shorts, shoes and the obvious stench of people who neglected to apply deoderant. Ugh, makes me shudder. Astral was eternally thankful when they delivered the children to the zoo and he could leave the bus. " Hey, Yuma!" Yuma looked over and saw Tori skipping of the girls' bus (Girl's Bus!). It was bright and pink and CLEAN and shiny and new and CLEAN and really really CLEAN. Have I mentioned that it was CLEAN? No? Okay, well it was super CLEAN. Unlike the boys' bus. Astral was tempted to ride along with the girl's on the way back. After Tori reached them, and the chaperon got off the girls' bus (Girl's Bus! Sorry), the multiple teachers led the loud crowd of children through the gates of the Heartland Animal Zoo of Adventure (Pretty pathetic, when you need to specify that it's an animal zoo, not a human one. Makes ya wonder, huh?) Anyhoo. Yuma was leading the charge, tearing towards the elephant exhibot with all the speed stored in his gangly skinny legs. " CHILDREN!" the lead teacher thundered. Every child stopped short. And the one ghost. " WE ARE GOING TO SEE THE PETTING ZOO FIRST!"

" Awwwww!" every elephant loving child moaned. Most of the girls, however, were squealing with joy. Astral followed Yuma, who was slightly less leading the charge. After they reached the petting zoo, Yuma and Tori wandered over to the open-topped chicken coop. Astral loved the little feathery bundles of joy instantly and layed down on the wood chips to see them on a chicks-eye-view level (the bird kind, not the girl kind of chic). Animals can see Astral, so the birds, since they liked him too, nestled around him in a perfect out-line. One tried to sit on his head, but that was just awkward. Yuma was staring at Astral. " Astral! What are they doing?"

" Relaxing is the word, correct?" Astral said lazily. He's never lazy, you know. He usually has this monotone. Well the teachers were freaked out by the strange ghost-shaped formation the birds had taken up, so they ushered the kids away from the chickens. Astral got up and floated after Yuma and Tori. Yuma was scratching a goat behind it's floppy ears. Astral was frightened by the goat's odd eyes and hid behind Yuma until they walked away. He at one point held a very interesting conversation with a sheep. " Hello, small woolly sheep."

" Baaa!"

" I see!"

" Baaa ba bababa baaaa!"

" My goodness! Is it terribly difficult being so enlightened?"

" Baaa ba ba baaaa ba ba ba."

Yuma was somewhat disturbed by the sight of his friend talking to a dumb animal like a sheep. " Astral, why are you talking to a stupid sheep?"

" He's not stupid! He's enlightened."

" What?"

" He only says 'baa'. Only the most enlightened of gurus says that."

" Astral. You're an idiot."

" No I'm not. I'm becoming enlightened."

" HE'S A STUPID SHEEP! HE'S GONNA BE KILLED AND USED FOR MUTTON SANDWICHES!"

" WHAT? NO!" Astral started, um, crying, I, think. He was trying to hug the sheep while making high-pitched wails, but the sheep was just chewin' it's cud. It had apparently come to grips with it's useless and hopeless tasty existance. And I admire that, really. But just so you know, he disappeared that day. Poor Sheep. I hope he's happy where he is. " What? SHEEP IS DEAD?"

" Astral!"

" What?"

" We were setting a new record for NOT breaking the fourth wall!"

" Oh. Sorry."

" Ugh. Why do I put up with such stupid literature subjects? *sigh*, anyhoo."

" Uh, author, your breaking the fourth wall."

" What? Really?"

" Uh yeah. Your only supposed to talk between the dialogue and within the limits of parentheses."

" Oh darn. Really?"

" I'm pretty sure."

" Says who?"

" The Book."

" *gasp* The Book!"

" Yes The Book."

" Yuma, what is The Book?"

" Shut up Astral."

" Oh esteemed author! Why would you say that?"

" Ugh, calm down buddy."

" Hey folks, this long strip of three people talking may seem confusing, but this is Yuma. Excuse us for a minute while we check The Book." *heavenly choir*

" Hey Yuma, Astral, did you hear that?"

" I, Astral, in fact did hear something."

" Like what guys?"

" Like a heavenly host..."

" Astral you confuse me sometimes. Okay! Let's get back to the reading of The Book." *heavenly choir* " There it is again!"

_**(Behind the Scenes...)**_

_**KiannaYudo13 and Yuma bend over a large book. " Let's see," Yuma mused, checking the tables of content. " 'The Building of the Fourth Wall', eh nope. 'The Creation of the Fourth Wall'? Nuh-uh. "The Great Wall of China'?" What the heck is that doing in there? Oh here it is. 'When Authors Break the Fourth Wall'. Page 1,902, column 8, paragraph 3." They flipped to the page. " 'Often, some over-excited authors will add themselves into the story, without perentheses and/or placing their sentences between the characters' dialogue. This is generally found confusing and should be avoided unless already planned for the story'. It says it right there. In black and white." **_

_**" Actually it's in black because the black is the words and the white is the page. So it says it in black."**_

_**" Are all authors like this? Oh yeah, on with the story!"**_

_**(No Longer Behind the Scenes.)**_

After they had finished visiting the petting zoo, the field trippers (is that the correct term?) set off towards the tiger pen. When they got there, Astral was scared beyond ALL heck and was floating behind Yuma, peeking fearfully over his shoulder. " Astral? What's wrong?"

" Oh, nothing, nothing. It's just that tigers have unnaturally long and lethal looking teeth, so I'm not so sure how safe this is. And, and and their claws! Those things are huge! They could slice us in half!"

" Astral. You're a ghost. They'd just fly right through you."

" Yes! But they can't just fly through you! If they try to hurt me, you'll protect me!"

" I will?"

" Yes, and you'll protect me by jumping in front of the beast."

" I will?"

" Naturally. And instead of going AROUND you, it'll go THROUGH you! And you aren't so easy to put together."

" I guess so. But, do I get a say in this...?"

" No."

" Aww man! It's no fun being a hero when you don't want to be!" So Yuma finally allowed Astral to take him to a less violent looking exhibot.

" Astral. Snails? Really?"

" You're right. These are boring! Let's look somewhere else." They wandered around somewhere else. There was a theater that had a bunny on the screen. " Look, Astral. A bunny movie. Let's watch it!" The two kids (is Astral a kid?) sat in the front seats, and as the movie unfolded, with lots of fluffy bunnies running around, Astral began to unwind. The narrator began narrating. " In the wild," he said. " the rabbit is a valuable asset to nature, as they help to populate the world with their fluffy race, and helping others." Suddenly, a falcon showed up and snatched a particularily cute bunny that had been munching on some honey suckle. Shrieking, it dragged it's screaming prey into the sky. Yuma and Astral gulped. " Such is the purpose of the rabbit. To provide food for the larger, hungrier, meaner carnivores. And if you note the spelling of the word, "carnivore", you'll see that "carnivore" includes the four letters C, A, R and N in the beginning of the word. So does carnage. Coincidence? I think not. Carnage is certainly evident at this meal."

" Oh." Yuma said in a weak voice. " A hawk documentery."

" Lovely." Astral gulped, staring as the red hawk tore meat from the rabbit's bloody corpse. " Can we leave?"

" Yes. Yes we can." Yuma led Astral out of the theater. Astral was shuddering. " The poor bunny." Yuma gazed sympathetically at Astral. " Let's go get a snack."

" I can't eat, Yuma."

" Oh, yeah. Well, you can watch me eat."

" That's hardly comforting."

" Whatever. I like the idea of an elephant ear though!"

" Elephant ear? Why would you eat one? Wouldn't it be leathery and distasteful, and maybe waxey if they didn't clean it?"

" AWW! ASTRAL, THAT'S NASTY!"

" It's true!"

" Just because it's true doesn't mean it's not nasty!" The rest of the trip, except for the visits to the carnivore exhibots, went comparitively well. Just don't ask about the beaver incident.

**KIANNAYUDO13: Ahh, that's a good one! Considering I can barely use my left hand due to the bright green cast I've got on it.**

**YUMA: How does your limited typing ability interfere with your story telling?**

**KIANNAYUDO13: I'm trying to glean sympathy from my readers. Do you mind?**

**ASTRAL: Poor Sheep. *sniff* He's gone.**

**SHEEP: Baaa**

**ASTRAL: SHEEP! *hugs Sheep" Oh, I thought I'd never see you again!**

**SHEEP: Baa**

**KIANNAYUDO13: Are, are you crying?**

**YUMA: Poor guy. Oh, and how did you break your arm, anyway?**

**KIANNAYUDO13: Well, we have this tree-house, and I was frolicking a little too close to the edge, and I slipped on a nail and made a gloriously ungraceful tumble to the stupid ground.**

**YUMA: Ouch**

**KIANNAYUDO13: Yeah. Oh, here's some free advice; don't fall out of tree-houses without the proper equipment. Gimme five dollars.**

**YUMA: For what?**

**KIANNAYUDO13: The free advice, of course. This is a Wal-Mart deal, buddy.**

**YUMA: *sigh* Whatever. Here.**

**KIANNAYUDO13: YAAY! I luv munniez!**

**YUMA: What's with the sudden lack of correct spelling?**

**KIANNAYUDO13: Shut up! Thanks for reading! And positively reviewing most of the time! R'n'R!**


End file.
